Biography

Jane Wyman (her professional name) always allowed an aura of mystery to surround her birth date in St. Joseph, Missouri. Even though the date of January 4, 1914 was often given  because, like many people in the film industry, Jane initially wanted to be seen as older for career reasons  the State of Missouri issued a birth certificate for Sarah Jane Mayfield on January 5, 1917 to Manning J. Mayfield and Gladys Hope Christian, a doctor's stenographer and office assistant. Friends who have seen Wyman's driver's license and passport also confirm her 1917 birth date.

Filmography

Academy Award- and Golden Globe-winning film actress Jane Wyman appeared in 89 films, 212 episodes of the television series Falcon Crest, and 72 times on other television shows, including 49 installments of Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre.

Her career spanned 61 years, from an uncredited appearance, along with Betty Grable (also uncredited) and others as a Goldwyn Girl in the 1932 musical comedy The Kid from Spain to her final television performance in 1993 in an episode of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.

Testimonials

One of Jane's closest friends toward the end of her life was Mary ("Gabé" for Gabrielle) Farrell:

"We became very close friends about nine years ago when she moved here to Palm Springs. And she would rely on me for any assistance she needed, because at that time she was really quite handicapped with arthritis and diabetes. She always said The Blue Veil was her favorite film. She had a copy and we all watched it together.

"She also was proud of the Johnny Mercer Academy Award winning song she sang with Bing Crosby, In the Cool Cool Cool of the Evening. Every once in a while...

Obituary

Palm Springs, CA - September 10, 2007  Jane Wyman, known to one generation as an Academy Award- and Golden Globe-winning film actress and to still more fans as ruthless matriarch and vintner Angela Gioberti Channing on 1980s prime-time CBS soap opera Falcon Crest, has died at the age of 90, according to her long-time business manager, Michael Mesnick.